A member of the Guyana Defence Force, his wife and a former soldier face the charge which is linked to several incidents in mid-2009.GEORGETOWN, Guyana, – There’s been an unexpected twist in investigations into fire and gun attacks on government buildings that occurred a year and a half ago, with an army major, his wife and a former member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) now charged with the capital offence of treason.
Major Bruce Munroe, 36; his 39-year-old wife Carol-Ann Munroe who runs a private school; and ex-soldier, now owner of an inn, Leonard Wharton, are due to appear in court today to answer the charge, after several days in police custody.
The three were among four people arrested last Thursday, but the fourth person was subsequently released without charge.
According to the Guyana Chronicle newspaper, the treason charge has its origin in the burning down of the Ministry of Health, the attempted arson of the Richard Ishmael School and the Supreme Court building and the gun attack on the Brickdam Police Station in July 2009.
Several others have already been charged in connection with those incidents but, in this latest development, media reports indicate that police claim to have video and audio evidence that also implicates the Munroes and Wharton.
The three are expected to be remanded to prison when they make their first court appearance, as treason is not a bailable offence. The crime is punishable by death.
The fire and gun attacks had been labeled “terror” attacks by government officials, with President Bharrat Jagdeo saying, after the fire at the Ministry of Health, that there were overseas connections to the crime.
According to local newspaper Kaieteur News, police have sought INTERPOL’s assistance in tracking down two more men, including another former soldier, who are believed to have been the brains behind the attacks.
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